


The Play

by goldenwolfrose



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Mutual Pining, Not Beta Read, One Shot, skimmons - Freeform, skimmons-freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 06:25:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15657594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldenwolfrose/pseuds/goldenwolfrose
Summary: Jemma is always the leading lady, but one year her crush gets cast as her co-star. And of course this year's production has the characters in a romantic relationship and they have to kiss. Daisy auditioned hoping that she would finally have a chance to spend some time with the woman she has been crushing on for too long. Fitz and Bobbi are tired of their best friends pinning over each other and between teasing and a little white lie maybe they will finally figure out they both like each other.





	The Play

**Author's Note:**

> A/N - Unedited and Unbeta'ed   
> Obviously not canon and my own little world. 
> 
> Sorry in advance for any creative liberties I have taken in regards to casting, the theater and well anything else that I may have decided to use in my own way. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this nonsense. It all started with a one sentence prompt meme on tumblr, and here we are 5000 words and change and ten pages later. 
> 
> Some of this work is totally an exercise in Jess rambling as she writes but I hope anyone who reads it likes it.

The Play

“-for closing night bets you slipped me tongue during our stage kiss what the fuck do I do”

For the fourth year in a row, Jemma and Fitz stood outside the doors to the auditorium waiting for the cast list for this year’s play to be posted. Much like every year since Fitzsimmons were freshmen the scene around the auditorium was eerily similar.  There were loads of anxious first-timers crowding the space where the teacher would be in a few moments, hoping to get a first look at the list so they could be put out of their misery or start freaking out about their next few weeks if they made the play.

Behind the anxious first years were those who had already been in a play or two and knew that a few minutes wouldn’t change the fact that they either made the play again or were being regulated to stage crew or worse simply the audience. But, Fitz and Simmons stood even further behind them on the very edge of the crowd.

Simmons had been the lead in every play since their freshmen year and Fitz had been the head of sound and lighting for just as long. There was literally no one in the school that could top either of their talents and their teacher knew it. After their first play together the theater director was so amazed by their talents that he had tried to convince both Fitz and Simmons to switch to a Bachelor’s program in the theater department but they wouldn’t budge. Instead, Fitz and Simmons came back every year to lead a new production of whatever the school was putting on.

A moment later there was a growing murmur escaping from the group led mostly by the newcomers. Clearly, the cast list had been updated and from the back, Jemma could hear the usual crying and shrieked noises of someone being cast in their first play.

Jemma and Fitz remained at the back of the group waiting for everyone to take their turn at reading what decisions had been made. Once the last of the groups of people scurried away Fitzsimmons strolled towards the board. As was their tradition Fitz read the list first and came back after to tell Jemma which role she had and who she would be cast against.

Foot gently tapping against the sidewalk clearly nervous, Jemma kept an eye on Fitz wondering what was taking him longer than it probably should be. Finally, Fitz turned and there was a look on his face, Jemma became more apprehensive knowing that look all too well.

Clearly amused, “So Jemma…” Fitz trails off the smile on his face growing ever so slightly, “Congrats on getting the lead again.”

Releasing a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding, Jemma feels a slight sense of relief wash over her. There was a moment where Jemma worried that Fitz was going to come back and tell her that she wasn’t going to be part of the production or something. When the smile on Fitz’s face doesn’t diminish a new sense of dread starts bubbling up in the depths of Jemma’s mind.

“OK.” Jemma questions, “What else?’ she finishes nervously.

The smile on Fitz’s face only grows wider as he answers, “Well you’ll never guess who you’re costar is?” he teases.

A new sense of foreboding swims through Jemma’s veins at all the truly horrific possibilities that she could be stuck with this year. There’s the truly disgusting option of Grant Ward, who despite having almost no acting talent always manages to get cast in some role. It could be Mack, which isn’t bad really Jemma muses to herself, though she’d rather not have to act out some romance with him, or heaven forbid stage kiss him. Before Jemma’s mind can continue running through the list of people she would really not have to work so closely with Fitz decides to give Jemma the news.

“Daisy Johnson” Fitz pointedly announces to Jemma the smile almost making Fitz’s face glow at this point.

The blood in Jemma’s face must drain out with the way Jemma’s brain reacts to this new development. Never in a million years did she ever expect to get to work with Daisy. Jemma didn’t even know that Daisy was interested in the theater. Her and Daisy didn’t share classes since they were in different majors, but that didn’t stop Jemma from having a massive crush on her since Sophomore year. All because Daisy had taken pity on Jemma one day in the library and helped her with a search that was being particularly troublesome. They ran into each other here and there across campus and exchanged hello’s or smiles at each other but nothing substantial. Now Jemma realizes she is going to be spending the next several weeks in very close proximity to her crush.

Clearly, Fitz’s knew this was going to be a marvelous sight and something that would cause his best friend a great deal of embarrassment, given the smile that was still plastered on his face. The fact that Fitz was still glowing with glee definitely made nervous.

“And that’s not all Jemma” Fitz muses his tone far too merry waiting a few breaths before continuing, “and she’s your love interest.”

It’s all Jemma can do now to keep herself from falling to the ground at the shock of what news Fitz has given her.

“Oh,” Jemma squeaks before Fitz is standing next to her, using his body to hold her up.

Across the quad, Daisy waits impatiently next to her phone counting the tense minutes until her phone dings with some sort of news. Daisy had been far too nervous to actually go to see the cast list being posted so she had managed to convince her roommate Bobbi to go look at it and text her the news. As the minutes ticked by and her phone didn’t alert her to a new message, Daisy started to fear the worst. Sure, Daisy had never been in a play before but she thought her audition had gone well and was at least hoping for a bit part. Of course, since her motivation to join the production this year, unlike every other, were totally selfish Daisy figured the fates would conspire against her.

Without noticing it, Bobbi is now standing over her shoulder, with a giant knowing smile stretching from ear to ear.

“Bobbi!” Daisy startles once she sees Bobbi in the corner of her eye, “I thought you were going to text me?” Daisy ends off questioningly.

If it were possible Daisy is sure that Bobbi’s smile only grows wider as she begins, “I know” Bobbi lightly teases, “but I just had to be here to see your reaction.”

Daisy is completely nervous with the playful tone Bobbi is using right now and she knows that whatever Bobbi knows right now is going to be very bad for Daisy and very good for Bobbi.

“You know the reason you auditioned,” Bobbi begins lyrically, “well she’s your love interest.”

It’s a little, ok a lot, funny to Bobbi the way the blood drains from Daisy’s face at the news. Finally, after three long years of Daisy talking about library girl and wishing Daisy would do something about the unbelievable crush she had on Jemma, Bobbi had managed to get Daisy to get into Jemma’s life. The suggestion of Daisy auditioning for the play was one Bobbi made half-heartedly one night when they had been drinking. Never in a million years did Bobbi expect Daisy to go and do it, but Daisy realized it was a great idea because she would be close to Jemma but not too close and Daisy did exactly that. Now though, this whole idea was way better than she could have ever imagined.

Not only will Daisy be working close to Jemma they will undoubtedly have to kiss or at least act out some romantic scenes. If there working didn’t get Daisy to express her feelings towards Jemma, Bobbi was confident Daisy would never say anything and she would miss out on a really great opportunity.

Bobbi had been concerned when Daisy first came home star eyed after Jemma and Daisy’s first meeting in the library but Daisy was too cute and infatuated for Bobbi to want to call her roommate out. Never the less, Bobbi did a little research to make sure that Daisy wouldn’t get hurt. After a year and a half of rooming together, Bobbi still didn’t know all of Daisy’s past but Bobbi knew the other woman had been through some horrible experiences.

The initial exploration of Jemma Simmons, made Bobbi wary since it was generally assumed by most of the people in the science department that Jemma was dating Fitz, although there was no hard proof. From the limited interactions Bobbi had been able to observe the pair were close but they didn’t act as lovers. When Bobbi saw Fitz flirt with a tall Black man one afternoon in the dining hall, Bobbi realized that Fitz was probably gay, so her concerns about Jemma being taken vanished. Observing Jemma became less of a need after that but Bobbi still kept tabs on her and that’s how she knew Jemma would be part of the play again this year.

Daisy sat before Bobbi and still had not moved a muscle from when Bobbi dropped the news on Daisy and Bobbi started to get a little concerned she had broken her roommate.

“Are you sure” Daisy mumbles out clearly dreading whatever answer Bobbi would give back.

There was a brief moment where Daisy had hoped that Bobbi was just messing with her, that Daisy had only been cast as a bit part and Bobbi decided it would be fun to tease her. That thought though is quickly dispelled as Bobbi pulls out her phone and shows Daisy the picture she had taken of the cast list, knowing that Daisy probably wouldn’t believe her.

“Oh,” Bobbi cheerfully adds, realizing she hadn’t offered her praise to her friend yet, “Congrats on being cast as the other lead.”

Now Daisy is really stressing and she is sure she is going to combust the first time she has to work with her, ignoring whatever else the play may call for them to be doing.

Later that night, back in their off-campus flat, Fitz is still trying to calm down an anxious and on edge Jemma. Since Fitz had told Jemma that she was cast against Daisy, Jemma had maybe spoken ten words and a few of those were more nonsense than actual words.

Handing a steaming cup of tea to Jemma Fitz tries to calm Jemma down some, “Maybe it won’t be that bad?” Fitz searches for some way this could be better, “Maybe she’s a horrible actor. Or she smells funny. She probably just auditioned as a joke and she won’t take the role.” Fitz finishes realizing his last suggestion is probably the best one for Jemma.

“She doesn’t smell funny” Jemma retorts turning her nose up at Fitz, “she smells like….” it takes a moment for Jemma to place the smell realizing she’s never really thought about it and then when she does she realizes the humor in the smell of Daisy and Jemma gets a soft smile on her face, “well…she smells like Daisies.”

Scoffing, Fitz rolls his eyes at his love-struck best friend but sits next to her glad that Jemma seems to be coming out of her mood.

“Fitz,” Jemma begins nervously, “I don’t know if I can do this.”

Cocking his head to side clearly bemused, Fitz stares at his best friend, “Jemma you are the smartest most talented person I know. You’ll be fine.” Fitz takes a breath to compose his thoughts, “You’ll walk in there tomorrow, and own the theater just like you always have” he adds in a hopeful confident tone that always works on calming Jemma down, “you’ll freak out for a few minutes about it and then you’ll get down to business. When this is over and the last curtain falls in a few weeks, something will have happened.”

Jemma knows Fitz is right, he usually is, and she knows that his last bit of advice is probably the most truthful outcome. At the end of the production, Jemma will either be closer to Daisy or she will have to force herself to move. Holding her cup of tea closer to her chest, Jemma stands from the couch, clearly pondering the potential outcomes of the next few weeks. Bidding Fitz a good night Jemma heads down the hall and into her room.

The next afternoon arrives far sooner than Jemma would like since she has been stressed about the first rehearsal since well since Fitz told her that she was working with Daisy. Scattered around the theater are groups of Jemma’s fellow cast members talking in little groups as they do every year. Fitz is towards the back of the theater with the fellow techies. Jemma spots Daisy in a small group towards the center of the theater and her heart literally skips a beat.

Daisy’s hair is shorter than she remembers ending about her chin and Jemma can’t help but stare at the way it frames her face and makes her look even more stunning. Of course, Jemma gets caught as Daisy peers through the few people around her and her eyes instantly lock with Jemma’s.

Quirking her mouth a little Daisy enjoys watching the blush bloom on Jemma’s face after Daisy managed to catch Jemma staring at her. Realizing that Jemma was staring at her gives her heart a little rush. Maybe, just maybe, Daisy wonders for the first time in a while that Jemma might be interested in her. It wasn’t that Daisy hadn’t thought about the possibility of Jemma liking her, Daisy just thought it was easier to live in limbo, that way her heart couldn’t get broken.

A few moments later the director is calling for everyone’s attention and the cast is broken into groups so they can work together on their parts. Since Jemma and Daisy are the leads they, of course, end up in the same group and both women try their best to ignore the flutters in their stomachs.

Surprisingly, Jemma realizes, Daisy is quite talented and easily steps into her part and this puts Jemma’s mind a little more at east. If Daisy can slip into her part so well, it allows Jemma to ignore her feelings and focus on the task in front of them.

Rehearsal goes smoothly and when they take breaks Jemma and Daisy flutter around each other but never actually try and close the small gap between them. Fitz is in the sound booth and rolling his eyes at the uselessness of his best friend. Fitz is certain after watching the small glances Daisy would makeover at Jemma when Jemma wasn’t looking that Daisy likes Jemma. Even knowing that they liked each other Fitz wonders if they will ever actually interact, the way they are still dancing in orbit around each other he doubts it quietly.

One rehearsal turns into two and then three and then all the sudden it’s opening night. While Daisy and Jemma had rehearsed all the scenes of the play, the director asked them to wait until opening night to kiss. The director rationalized that it would add a hint of mystery to the scene and it wouldn’t come across as fake or staged since the kiss was written as a nervous first kiss. Unfortunately for Jemma and Daisy it only made their nerves more on edge since neither were really confident in their ability to not faint when they kissed. It had become clear to both women after the last few weeks that there was something between them, but they still hadn’t actually made any moves towards understanding what it was.

Daisy finished her last lines and then Jemma was leaning in for their first kiss, well not their first kiss, but their characters first kiss. Trying as she might Jemma did her best to focus on her and Daisy’s characters but it was getting incredibly more complicated as their lips got closer. The gloss on Daisy’s lips looked so enticing and as Jemma’s eyes fluttered close the little remaining distance between them disappeared, Jemma wondered briefly if it was flavored.

The apple flavor that meets Jemma lips as their lips brush against each other sends a small shudder through her body. It wasn’t what Jemma was expecting, not that Jemma had really thought much about what kissing Daisy would be like (which is a total lie she had thought a lot about it) but apple was definitely not the flavor she thought Daisy would be wearing. Brushing their lips together one more quick time Daisy pulls away and the curtain closes bringing an end to their night’s first performance.

The next morning the entire cast is huddled around the computer in the green room waiting for the school’s newspaper to update their site with a review from last night’s performance. The director was confident that the night had gone well and complimented both Jemma and Daisy on the raw energy the audience saw in the kiss scene. When the featured articles page updated the review was there and everyone craned their necks trying to read the critics thoughts.

Much like the director had predicted the critic review of opening night was glowing. Many members of the crew were signaled out for praise but mostly Daisy who the critic called refreshing and engaging. What the critic loved most though was the final scene where Daisy and Jemma kissed, calling the scene the highlight of the show and the part the audience was completely engaged in following along with.

By the time the entire cast had read the review Jemma and Daisy were surrounded by their fellow cast members with hugs and congratulations. Jemma was, well not comfortable with the attention but had experienced it before so she wasn’t as overwhelmed, Daisy, on the other hand, was clearly caught off guard. Looking over the people surrounding her Daisy managed to make eye contact with Jemma and plead for some help in a weird wordless exchange of looks. Thankfully, Jemma had become accustomed to Daisy’s subtle looks and expressions over the last few weeks so Jemma was able to bring some calm to the situation.

“Ok, everyone!” Jemma calls in between the hustle and bustle around them, “let’s get back to work. We have another week of shows to get through.”

When the last straggler has delivered one last congratulations to Daisy and left her space, Daisy takes in a long breath and relaxes her shoulders. Glancing over at Jemma Daisy mouths a silent thank you to her co-star. Taking a step away from Jemma, Daisy stops before she gets too far and instead turns around towards Jemma closing the distance between them.

“Hey, Jems” Daisy begins nervously, “so….I guess we work well together.”

Daisy wants to hit herself over the head, in all the years she had planned an actual conversation with Jemma it was never supposed to be like this. Not only had Daisy accidentally used the nickname she had created with Bobbi she made their time together sound so formal.

Jemma is a little taken back by the nickname Daisy calls her. Few people ever tried to call her anything other than Simmons, a few people called her Jemma mostly Fitz but most just stuck to Simmons. At some point, Jemma had just learned to accept it and she even began introducing herself as Simmons Junior year since everyone called her that anyways. But with the nickname and the way her name fell of Daisy’s tongue Jemma is a little speechless.

Eventually, Jemma finds her voice and can’t help but quietly chuckle at what Daisy said.

“Well, I guess we do” Jemma offers trying to remain calm even though her heart is beating a mile a minute.

There is a long pause while both women stare at each other unsure of what they should say next and where this conversation should go since they’ve never really talked before. Both the director and Fitz are in the wings watching as the useless women just let the moment slip away.

“Do you think they know?” the director casually asks Fitz without really looking at him.

Sighing dramatically, “Yes” Fitz answers, “but I doubt they’ll make a move for each other.”

‘It’s a shame’ is all Fitz hears as the director walks away and presumably prepares for tonight’s show or whatever the man does when he isn’t directing or teaching.

The moment starts to get a little tense both women waiting on the other to say or do something and Daisy is the first to crack under the uncertainty.

“Umm yeah…” Daisy trails off unsure of herself, “well I guess I’ll see you later…well errr…umm…tonight I guess” beginning now to ramble like a nervous wreck, “you know tonight. For the show. Yeah, where we kiss…..”

A blush starts creeping across Daisy’s cheeks as she thinks about kissing Jemma again tonight and before she can ramble off and make a complete fool of herself Daisy spins away and starts putting some distance between herself and Jemma. As she moves further away Daisy wonders to herself when she got so bad at flirting. She had never been a pro but she used to have game, now she’s a bumbling mess around the prettiest girl she knows.

Tonight’s performance is as good, if not better than opening night and the entire cast can feel the energy coursing through the theater. After a quick ‘way to go’ from the director the curtain raises for the second act and in what feels like a moment later Jemma is closing the gap between her and Daisy kissing her once again. Tonight’s kiss though features cherry lip gloss and Jemma can’t help but lick her lips as she pulls away from Daisy. The last remnants of Daisy’s lip gloss are gone and Jemma can’t help but look back down at Daisy’s lips wondering if one more kiss would be too much. The audience cheering from outside the curtain though and her fellow cast members entering the stage from the wings breaks the spell Jemma was under and Jemma casts her eyes away from Daisy and on to the stage floor next to them.

The third night of production Daisy’s lips taste like lemons and their kiss is a little bit longer than the previous nights. Night four brings a watermelon lip gloss and Jemma gripping her lower lip behind her teeth after they pull away from each other. Passion fruit, Jemma thinks, is the flavor for the next night’s production, followed by bubblegum, banana, and blueberry as it seems Daisy has a never-ending supply of flavored lip gloss.

With each kiss and each taste of a new flavor’s lip gloss, Daisy had slowly been learning about what flavors Jemma liked best. It was dumb and Bobbi had teased her relentlessly when she came home with a multi-flavored pack after the first night’s performance. Their kiss had been wonderful and Daisy had noticed how Jemma responded to her usual apple flavor gloss after opening night, so Daisy wanted to see what other flavors Jemma liked. There was absolutely no ulterior motive in hoping that Jemma might kiss her again or a lot of times if she found a particular flavor that Jemma liked, absolutely none. So each night Daisy tried a new flavored gloss and carefully watched how Jemma reacted to each and every one.

The night of the bubblegum flavor had definitely been the worst of the nights. Not only did Daisy hate the taste on her lips, almost immediately after applying it, but the face Jemma made as she pulled away was enough to make Daisy throw it in the trash when she got home. A few of the other flavors were popular but watermelon was clearly Jemma’s favorite at least Daisy assumed by the reaction she saw on Jemma’s face.  The darker pupils that looked down at Daisy as Jemma pulled away from their kiss that night was enough to make Daisy weak in the knees.

Closing night was upon the cast faster than anyone felt was possible and Fitz was frustrated at this point with how Daisy and Jemma were really nowhere closer than before production started. The rest of the cast shared Fitz’s frustration, after the second night, most of the cast and crew caught the clear vibe that was shared between the two women. Everyone on the cast and crew also saw how completely useless they were in making a move for the other. A small wager had started between two of the understudies and by closing night everyone from the director on down had money on if the women would finally get together.

It wasn’t that Fitz wanted to win the bet, or at least he kept trying to tell himself that, he just wanted to see his best friend happy. If he happened to win a serious amount of money in the process to Jemma and Daisy finding each other well that was a definite bonus. Fitz, took it upon himself than to help move things along a little.

Spying Daisy walking around backstage, Fitz heads over and catches her attention, “Hey Daisy” Fitz casually calls.

“Ummm, Hi” Daisy cautiously responds marginally confused that Fitz called her out since they had barely spent any time together or event talked since the production started.

Fitz wasn’t normally a dishonest person, Jemma would probably say he was a bit straight-laced if anyone asked her, but something needed to be done to help push Daisy towards Jemma, so Fitz took tonight as an opportunity to be a tad dishonest.

“So” Fitz began trying to sound confident and not nervous or like he was lying, “you’ve heard about closing night traditions right?”

Mouth clenching in uncertainty Daisy shakes her head, she had heard a lot of other theater traditions but this wasn’t one of them.

Breathing a sigh of relief that his plan would be that much easier Fitz continues on trying to keep the confident demeanor going, “Oh well, closing night is when the cast has a bit of fun. And it's tradition…” Fitz trails off a slight tinge of worry crossing through his mind, “well its tradition for couples who kiss to make the kiss a little different on closing night.”

The blush that creeps up Daisy’s neck is enough of a sign for Fitz that Daisy has caught on to his meaning though it isn’t a certainty that she will do anything different yet.

“It is” Daisy responds a mix between worry and anxiousness in her tone, “I…I hadn’t heard that.”

Scratching her neck, Daisy starts to second guess her plans for tonight. The tube of watermelon lip gloss was in her pocket and well that’s all Daisy had planned but she had hoped it was going to do something. Of course, with Fitz telling her that tonight’s kiss was supposed to be traditionally special Daisy wondered if she needed to do something else.

Before Daisy can ask Fitz for his help, he’s being called away for some problem and then Daisy is being dragged towards wardrobe to get ready for the last night’s performance.

Much as Fitz had told her earlier the closing night of the performance was something unique and different. Depending on who was on stage it flipped back and forth from a farce to an over exaggerated drama depending and sometimes both somehow. Never the less the audience was still enamored with the play and Daisy’s nerves were getting pretty bad.

Even Jemma was enjoying the closing night changes to the play, while she sometimes hated what her fellow actors did to a closing night performance, tonight it seemed like the cast was on to something special and it was working. From her spot in the wings she couldn’t see Daisy or the nervous wreck she was becoming and Jemma definitely had no clue of the small challenge Fitz had placed in Daisy’s mind.

By the time of the final scene, Daisy’s hands were sweating like never before and Daisy almost flubbed her lines once or twice. It seemed only Jemma noticed her anxiety but thankfully just played it off as part of Daisy’s character. When Daisy’s last line was delivered and Jemma leaned in for their last kiss, Daisy finally decided what she would do when their lips met.

Jemma pulled back her lips just a little when she tasted the familiar watermelon lip gloss but didn’t actually pull away. In fact, her body pulled Daisy a little closer and Jemma tried to hold herself from deepening the kiss. With Jemma’s lips firmly attached to her own, Daisy made her move and found a small opening to slide her tongue past Jemma’s lips and into the subtle warmth on the other side.

Caught off guard at the small intrusion of Daisy’s tongue inside her mouth, Jemma doesn’t pull away at first. Jemma was actually a bit mortified in the quiet moan that escaped and she hoped that Daisy didn’t hear it.

Soon enough though Daisy pulled away and took her watermelon flavored lips away from Jemma and prepared for curtain call. The audience hadn’t realized there was anything different about the kiss and most of the cast didn’t either, but Fitz did. Fitz had seen each show how the kiss would deepen just a little and had even noticed the slight reactions Jemma had to certain nights kiss.

With the last of the bows concluded and the cast breaking up to head to the closing night party Daisy found herself alone with Jemma outside the dressing rooms.

Neither woman could really look each other in the eye. Jemma pulled her eyes away because she really hoped Daisy hadn’t heard the little moan that escaped during tonight’s kiss. Daisy kept her eyes anywhere but on Jemma hoping that she wouldn’t get called out for adding a bit of tongue to tonight’s ending.

Try as she might Jemma did her best to not think about the kiss, why Daisy slipped her the tongue or how it felt or how badly she wanted to do it again. But, Jemma’s mind kept replaying the kiss and she kept wondering why tonight she took such a chance.

Before the tension could get weird again, Jemma cast her eyes over at Daisy and tried her very best not to stop at Daisy’s lips. Successful, just barely at least, Jemma instead gets lost in Daisy’s eyes and the slight dilation she finds filling the iris.

“So…” Jemma begins clearly nervous, “that was a great run…” she almost adds and I loved kissing you every night but manages to stop herself.

Quirking her upper lip up in agreement Daisy nods her head before adding, “and the audience certainly loved us.” Daisy thinks that audience especially loved their kiss but doesn’t want to call attention to tonight’s final kiss.

Once again there is a small pause where neither woman knows what to say so they just stare casually at each other, eyes dipping down to each other’s lips here and there when they think the other person isn’t watching as closely.

“Are you heading to the after party?” Daisy finally breaks the silence between them and the quiet spell they were under.

Surprised, Jemma fumbles a little before answering, “Not normally” it’s an honest answer since she’s never gone to one before but for some reason, Jemma thinks it might be the wrong answer if the look on Daisy’s face is any indicator.

“Oh,” Daisy answers back a little sad that Jemma won’t be around tonight, “don’t suppose,” Daisy continues a little hope in her voice, “don’t suppose you would come with me.”

It isn’t meant as asking Jemma out on a date, at least that wasn’t Daisy’s original intention, but the way it sounds now that she has asked it kinda sounds like one.

Ears tinging red, Jemma bites down on her lower lip casting her eyes away from Daisy’s before answering, “I could be persuaded”.

The smile that explodes on Daisy’s face when Jemma says she’ll go is infecting and a moment later, Jemma is looking up at Daisy with a matching smile. They would probably look like grinning fools to anyone that was still around but by now even the last of the tech crew has left the building in search of booze and after-party fun, so the women get away with the cheesy looks on their faces.

Before either Jemma or Daisy realizes it they are standing so close to each other they can almost see the freckles on the other person’s face. When asked later, Daisy says Jemma looked at her lips first while Jemma argues that Daisy was the first person to stare at the other’s lips. It doesn’t really matter who looked down first because a moment later they are kissing again and these kisses are far more passionate than the ones they shared on stage.

Hangs are pulling and grabbing seeking something solid to grab hold of as tongues slip and slide against each other while little whimpers fill the air around them. They kiss for what feels like hours but in reality was only a few minutes, though when they arrive at the party later the cast assures them it was long enough.

When Daisy finally pulls back from Jemma’s lips, she takes a deep breath and rambles in one quick breath, “cantonitebeadatebecauseIlikeyou”.

It takes a moment for Jemma to unscramble whatever Daisy mumbles but when she does her eyes light up and she nods enthusiastically. With a smile glued to her face, Jemma cautiously admits, “Yes because I like you too.”

By now their hands have found each other and are casually intertwined and Jemma and Daisy feel like they are floating on air. When they leave the theater and make it to the after party their fingers are still interlaced and the smiles that sprouted after their first ‘real’ kiss are just as brilliant.

It takes the cast all of two seconds before they are cheering whooping and hollering at the two women who have clearly found each other finally. Looking across the crowd both women realize that the cast knows and had been silently rooting for them to end up like this. Jemma finds Fitz in the crowd, he’s cuddled up to someone but he is wearing the most pleased smile she’s ever and he mouths, ‘about time’ to her. Shaking her head, Jemma can’t help it as she can feel her smile grow even larger at Fitz’s teasing words. Somehow Jemma and Daisy miss the money that ends up in Fitz’s hand but don’t miss the quiet murmurs that “Skimmons” was finally canon that resonate against the crowd around them.

Jemma never does ask Daisy why she slipped her tongue on closing night and Daisy never tells Jemma that Fitz was kind of the one that gave her the idea, instead they date and are happy and fall hopelessly in love with each other.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos are love. 
> 
> I glow every time I get an email from AO3 that someone has left kudos or comments so thank you! 
> 
> This was probably meant to be a short one-shot drabble sort of thing, but clearly, I got carried away. I almost made this a longer multi-chapter fic but was able to speed through some of to limit self to the 5800 words this ended up as. I have a few other Skimmons ideas rattling about my brain and hopefully will get those out soon. Plus I have chapter 15 to "After the Framework" that was supposed to be written today but because of distractions, we got this. 
> 
> Check out my other work in progress fics, or come say "HI" on my tumblr if you want--goldenwolfrose.tumblr.com


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